Robin Hood rides into Croatia for new film

ZAGREB — After hosting Star Wars and Game of Thrones, Croatia’s Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik was transformed into medieval Nottingham on Monday for a Leonardo DiCaprio-produced adaptation of Robin Hood.

With a budget of between US$70 and 100 million (66-94 million euros), according to local media, Robin Hood: Origins is set to be the most expensive movie ever filmed in the country.

British actor Taron Egerton stars as Robin and Oscar-winning Jamie Foxx portrays Little John in the film, which is directed by Britain’s Otto Bathurst. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions is one of the producers.

"I searched for Nottingham for three months in England but without success, and when I saw Dubrovnik I knew that was it," Bathurst told Croatian media ahead of filming.

For the next two weeks the crew will shoot in the historic streets and port of the popular tourist city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and former Renaissance trading power and cultural centre.

Bathurst said his Robin Hood would be different from previous versions of the famous tale, but remained as relevant as ever.

"It will be an entertainment movie with a subtext on corruption and the power of an individual to change what he knows is not true," the director was quoted as saying by the Novi list newspaper.

"It will reflect the rule of the one per cent over the 99 per cent."

The movie is set to be released in the United States in March next year.

Last year Dubrovnik was a backdrop to scenes in the latest Star Wars blockbuster. Since 2011 the city has also doubled up as King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms in the hit HBO fantasy series Games of Thrones. — AFP